Wildcats Beat Orme To Set Up 1A Title Game With Mogollon

By Greg Perkins
   When Joseph City defeated Mogollon in the final week of the regular season to win the 1A North region title, many people felt that was just round one of what would become a two-round fight. With both teams winning their semi-final games in the 1A state tournament last Saturday, the second meeting between the two schools will be for the state title this Saturday, Nov. 14.
   Mogollon defeated Bagdad 60-14 on Saturday and the Wildcats took care of Orme by a similar score of 64-20. These two teams have mirrored each other for most of the season with the exception of that first meeting, which Joseph City won 52-18. This week everything will be on the line. The Cats haven’t won the title since 2002 and hope to return the golden ball back to Joseph City.
   Their meeting with Orme on Saturday was a good indication of just how good the Wildcats are. Orme came into the game as the second seed from the West region, but had upset the top seed from the East, Duncan, the previous week with a big 48-20 win.
   Zack Baldwin had a huge game for the Cats, rushing for 127 yards and two scores. He also caught a 35-yard touchdown pass and returned a kickoff 93 yards for a fourth score.
   Stephen Solomon also had a big night, rushing for 144 yards with three scores, two of which came in the first half, helping Joseph City take a commanding 48-13 halftime lead.
   The Wildcats did most of their damage on the ground behind Baldwin and Solomon, who combined for 271 of the 355 yards of rushing offense.